The present apparatus and method relates to the mounting, in various and virtually unlimited positions, of animals preserved through usual taxidermy methods. Although it is anticipated that the disclosed apparatus and method will be used primarily for birds, it may be used for any animal mount.
It has been shown that animals, birds in particular, using current taxidermy methods, may be mounted on a wall (or other vertical surface), primarily through the use of wires affixed to a mounting base, sometimes driftwood, which is in turn affixed to the wall. Current methods and apparatuses for mounting such taxidermy mounts are unstable over time. The wires and other unstable mounting devices stretch over time, allowing the mounted animal to sag. In many instances, displays have to be remounted after long periods of time. Moreover, conventional mounting systems do not provide the ability to present the mount in any desired display position. In contrast, the present apparatus differs from all previous methods and apparatuses for mounting animals for display in that the animal can be mounted in any position and permanently affixed to a wall without wires or other unstable connective devices.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,981,004; 5,779,294; 5,248,121; 4,971,865; 3,200,515; 1,844,598 disclose various apparatuses for the mounting of birds and aquatic species. The described apparatus and method, however, differ from the previous efforts to mount animals in several ways. Unlike U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,981,004 and 5,779,294, a bird displayed on the disclosed apparatus by the disclosed method is mounted on a body form through which a rod extends and to which rod the body form is affixed. The disclosed mounting apparatus is then hidden by the mounted bird. Unlike U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,592, in the disclosed apparatus and method, the form on which the bird""s plumage is mounted can be made of modern plastic or plastic like materials and mounted on a rod as opposed to secured with wire. Unlike U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,515, the present invention does not incorporate a life sized form of a bird, but simply a molded body insert to be placed in the body cavity.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,971,865 and 5,248,121 are drawn to mountings for fish and deer antlers and are inappropriate for mounting birds for display.
Another way in which the disclosed apparatus and method differs from previous apparatuses and methods is that it allows for the mounting of a bird in any conceivable position. Once a position is chosen, the rod is inserted through a hole drilled through the body insert in any direction desired that is suitable for the desired presentation. Moreover, the present invention eliminates wire and driftwood and no special mounting stand is need. Thus, the stability of the mount over time is permanent and unsurpassed by any current art. The ease of mounting birds for display for the present invention is greatly enhanced allowing the taxidermist greater freedom in his artistic presentations as well as reduced cost because of the simplicity of the mount.
In light of these findings, the present apparatus and method differs from previous apparatuses and methods in the manner in which the birds are mounted, in allowing greater flexibility for displaying the mount in varying positions and presentations, and in the ease of use. The present invention is also less costly than current art.
The present invention relates to a device and method for mounting an animal, primarily birds, and affixing the animal to a mounting base which, in turn, is affixed to a wall or other vertical surface. The device comprises a mounting base, rod, conventional animal body insert, and securing assembly (which affixes the body insert to the rod). In order to practice the method a bird body with plumage attached must be secured by conventional taxidermy methods to the body insert after the hole is drilled through the body insert. The mounting base is affixed to a rod which is passed through a hole in a conventional body form, said hole being drilled or placed in the desired position through the body form so as to effect the desired attitude of the bird in the final display. The body insert, with the plumage attached, is affixed to the rod by the securing assembly. The mounting base may then be affixed to a vertical surface through conventional methods after the mounting of the animal on the disclosed device is completed
It is an object of the invention to provide a means for mounting and displaying animals, particularly birds, in any imaginable positional attitude, on a wall or other vertical surface without regard to the texture of the surface.
A principal objective of this invention is to provide a means for mounting and displaying birds, primarily on walls or vertical surfaces. Although the mounting system could be used on any relatively flat surfaces, whether uniform in texture or not. These surfaces could be walls, ceilings, floors, and fireplace portions of any composition.
Another important objective of this invention is to provide a device and method for mounting and displaying birds, giving the taxidermist complete flexibility in the positioning of the display and artistic presentation of the bird. Using this invention, birds may be displayed in traditional manners or in nontraditional manners such as inverted flight, head going toward the wall, head directed away from the wall in a perpendicular fashion, birds in flight, birds not in flight, or any other configuration only limited by one""s imagination.
Yet another important objective of this invention is to provide a device and method for mounting and displaying birds which is permanent and not subject to sagging or otherwise degrading over time. Traditional mounting methods using wires do not offer the same stability over time as the present invention.
It is further an objective of this invention is to provide a device and method for mounting and displaying birds or animal prepared by conventional taxidermy methods which is easy to use by anyone with average manual dexterity.
Still another objective of this invention is to provide a simpler device and method for mounting and displaying animals prepared by conventional taxidermy methods.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a less expensive device for the mounting and displaying of birds or animals prepared by conventional taxidermy methods.
These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.